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1. 01Season beneath the skin.Pat the pork dry with kitchen paper. Carefully loosen the skin from the meat, leaving it attached along one edge, and make several deep slits in the meat without piercing the skin. Mash garlic with oregano, oil, vinegar, pepper, and two-thirds of the salt. Rub the paste into the slits and over the meat beneath the skin. Keep the outer skin clean and dry.
2. 02Marinate cold.Lay the skin back over the meat, place in a nonreactive roasting dish, and cover. Refrigerate for at least 12 hours. Wash hands and equipment after handling the raw pork.
3. 03Roast slowly.Heat the oven to 325°F / 165°C. Put the pork skin-side up in a deep metal roasting pan, add the measured water around it, and cover the pan tightly with foil. Roast for about 3½–4¼ hours, checking the liquid occasionally. The shoulder should be very tender; a thermometer away from the bone will often read around 190°F / 88°C before the final crisping stage. Allow more time if the meat still resists a fork.
4. 04Crisp the skin.Remove the foil carefully, pat any wet areas of skin dry with kitchen paper held in tongs, and sprinkle the remaining salt over the skin. Raise the oven to 425°F / 220°C and roast uncovered for about 30–45 minutes until the skin is blistered and crisp. Keep watching so it does not burn. The meat should pull apart easily, commonly around 195–205°F / 90–96°C; all of it must exceed the pork minimum of 145°F / 63°C.
5. 05Rest and portion.Rest for 30 minutes without tightly covering the crisp skin. Remove the bone, pull or slice the meat, and cut the skin into irregular pieces. Spoon a little skimmed pan juice over the meat and serve with the crackling.

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